Investigations into the cause of the anaemia; [ ] denotes patients adequately investigated, see text for definition
| Control | Intervention | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| (n=204) | (n=227) | (n=431) | |
| *Significant pathology includes upper or lower carcinoma, active peptic ulceration, coeliac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, colon polyps, and angiodysplasia. All other abnormalities are classed as minor pathology. | |||
| Total number of patients having any gastrointestinal investigations | 89 [63] | 95 [62] | 184 [125] |
| Upper gastrointestinal only | |||
| Total number of patients | 26 [9] | 10 [2] | 36 [11] |
| Number with significant pathology found* | 13 | 3 | 16 |
| Number with minor pathology found | 9 | 5 | 14 |
| Number with no pathology found | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Lower gastrointestinal only | |||
| Total number of patients | 21 [13] | 42 [17] | 63 [30] |
| Number with significant pathology* found | 9 | 6 | 15 |
| Number with minor pathology found | 9 | 20 | 29 |
| Number with no pathology found | 3 | 16 | 19 |
| Upper and lower gastrointestinal | |||
| Total number of patients | 42 [41] | 43 [43] | 85 [84] |
| Number with significant pathology* found | 8 | 16 | 24 |
| Number with minor pathology found | 29 | 24 | 53 |
| Number with no pathology found | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| Total number of patients having other investigations (for example, gynaecology) | 10 [10] | 6 [5] | 16 [15] |
| Total number of patients having no investigations done | 105 [27] | 126 [36] | 231 [63] |
| Documented causative pathology, unfit, or died before planned investigation | 22 [22] | 25 [25] | 47 [47] |
| Patient died before investigation considered | 4 [1] | 7 [1] | 11 [2] |
| Patient refused investigation | 9 | 24 | 33 |
| No documented reason for absence of investigation | 70 [4] | 70 [10] | 140 [4] |